make do and mend for tougher times

prepareathome

sheesh life never gives you a break, am fuming. Just had surveyors from HA as the next step in their improvements is gardens and they took one look at my back garden and told me they cannot do their survey so I 'MUST' dig up everything and dismantle and remove everything - all my fruit trees, apple trees, my roses growing up archway, all my pots, herbs, greenhouses everything they want a blank canvas. I asked what they plan to do if I do this and got told well unless fencing that belongs to my neighbours is damaged, nothing as the side that belongs to this house has a horrible hedge going right up garden and they are not removing hedging so will not put a fence there - original fence was not even standing when we moved in as had been put in, in 1932 and long ago fell to bits. So what is the point but they told me it should only have a lawn in it nothing else. They put down its over grown - yes I admit hedge has got over grown as not been out for a couple of months to cut it between me being bad and weather but everything else is fine but all they can see if greenery so to them its overgrown. They told me I should get a skip and remove everything as there must be not as much as a pot in it for them to do their survey.

Yes to anyone who first looks at it, it does seem choas out there with it being so small everything is close together but its full of my winter and over wintering vegetables in pots plus as said my herbs, rhubarb and fruit bushes in ground but all are close together as no space. I did try to point this out but they would not listen.

I asked them if they were telling me I had no right to grow my own food, they told me yes if it filled my garden it should be lawn and maybe a border with flowers or maybe a herb or to but nothing more and certainly not bushes where lawn should be. Crazy thing is when we moved in the hedges had totally overgrown the garden and I mean totally, we did not know what size it was as hedges were up against back door and windows I had to stand at back door and cut my way through, now that was over grown.

On the offical notice that I am breaking my tenancy agreement they have put its over grown and overstocked with outbuildings and pots..............

Housing officer is supposed to be in touch in next 5 days so will see what they say and if they still demand I remove everything I will be going to papers, lawyer, MP and anyone else I can think of. My garden might not be place of great beauty, especially now most of the flowers in the posts on patio have died but its a useful garden and loved by me. Yes it could be tidier I do not deny but between bad weather and me not up to it on the few days its hasn't rained its not as tidy as should be but no rubbish out there. One guy told me all that material lying all over the place makes it so messy - its the garden fleece over the pots that have my winter vegetables so yes looks messy but needed.

Its my one big thing my vegetable growing and I am not giving it up without a fight.

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

jem132

Preparethehome that's terrible when I lived in my LAST house I was told by housing officer to cut down all my raspberry bushes and blackberry bushes and gooseberry. I told him for 1 thing they are a safety thing no burglar would want to climb my six foot fences covered bothsides ( we backed on to a nature reserve ) in prikaly bushes and 2 is he or the LA going to provide fresh soft fruit daily for my children as I could not afford to buy it needles to say I never heard any more about it.

Well today at 2pm I decided I am going to do all the things I can do for free to make this house home I am slowly getting there I start and give up we have lived hear a year it's getting there iv still got box's packed lol so iv sorted the airing cupboard and a indoor drying space inside the cupboard that was full of junk bleached the bathroom grout I can't stop it going mouldy need a dehumidifier me thinks boys room gets condensation bad even tho I leave windows open on safety catch. I really feel I am acheaving something on to my next job xx

kidcat

PAH - have a peek at past issues of the Echo there was a group of back to back two up two downs that converted the back alley into community garden, council originally said to get rid but they fought and council backed down. I believe they even said they were encouraging residents to grow food in these tough times. May take a bit of digging through past papers online but am sure you will find it.
If you can contact the group they may well be able to offer some advice and names of who to contact.

Ooooh I feel a sit in coming on, anyone fancy a trip to demonstrate to save PAH garden?

Dont worry if worse comes to worse I will send DS8 to "visit" council, five minutes of him and they will cave

On the saner side this is something that the council/HA are doing across the city now, my friend has a big bike shed (which we are getting ) and offered it to her DS and his GF to store DGD outdoor toys in but as they live in HA house they are not allowed, apparently they have been in there six months and have been inspected twice already - they were issued a notice for having a dog kennel!!
It seems the days of tenants in social housing being able to treat a property as their own are dead and gone, its much more like private renting, and with current changes its not even going to be any more secure than private, add in bedroom tax etc and renting is not looking good.

PAH - one thought is that in a private rental its the condition the house is handed back in that is key, I removed a kitchen cupboard in the last place to accomodate a cooker, a few weeks before we were due to move the new resident came to look around with the person who supervised the house and he sent agent round - agent asked what my plans were re cupboard, and I replied that it would be back and fixed to wall when we handed back. It was first thing checked when we left, he tried to wiggle the cupboard and see if it moved but we had done it all properly so there was nothing he could do.

Possession

PAH I thought that your HA had asked you to give talks on being prepared which included stuff like growing your own? I should calmly point this out along with the fact that grass is pretty useless since you don't have a flock of sheep.

prepareathome

Just checked my tenancy agreement - they gave us a new one when HA took over from council and there is nothing in it banning me from growing fruit/vegetables/herbs. All it says gardens must be kept tidy well ok pots might make it look messy but who defines what is tidy. Yes there are some empty pots sitting around unused that need to go away and my plastic bottles I use as cloches are piled up on patio but there is nothing to be thrown away out there all is needed and used through out the year.

To me my fruit bushes which I only planted last winter are things of beauty and look much nicer than any lawn would, not that there has been any lawn there as all the over grown hedges had killed off the lawn and it was a total mud patch out there till I planted the fruit bushes which I used to keep covered by pots and still do. One thing one of the guys said was that the path going up the garden should not be there but smile was wiped off his face when I told him it was the HA that put it there as I complained how the steepness of the garden and the mud meant it was very hard and dangerous for me to get onto and up garden. Their surveyor came out took one look and said even he with his big boots would not try and climb up there and he was amazed I had not complained sooner so he arranged for a path up middle of garden with a flagged area near the top that was a bit flatter so I could put a table and chairs there and a small fence either side so I could hold onto as I walked up.

The garden is one of the reasons OH and I are trying to live here, he knows I would never be rehoused in a place with a garden not on my own and although he could not care less about it knows how much it means to me. Ok he doesn't want us to part totally and is willing to try and give me the 'space' I need so it was his idea to try this way so I can keep the garden and now this.:mad:

Oh well will channel it into work - have done two walls in my sitting room and have enough paper for one more. I have not papered in a long time, just painted and didn't realise you have less paper on a roll now, about half I thought I would need 4 rolls and turned out need 8 so the last wall I might not put the same paper but keep it plain and cover it with mirrors as room dark because of all the trees out there and its the wall facing the window.

Over the fireplace I have put a heavy, almost fabric like plain red paper and covered the fireplace with marble effect fablon - grey effect which I think looks really striking against the red, much better than the mustard tiles that were there. I light candles in fireplace each evening and it makes room look so cosy.

Will post some pics.

Hugs and love to all xxxx

mardatha

Thank god my HA are brilliant and let me do anything I want. I'd go mad at them PAH, you pay rent for the house AND the garden, it goes with the house.

[Deleted User]

Hello again, have just had an e mail from DD2 and they are ready and prepared for the hurricane. They have food, water, candles,batteries are 2 streets away from an evacuation centre so are settling in to wait out the storm. They are booked to fly at 10 ish on Wednesday night but don't know if that will come off or not and they will try to e mail us every day they are there. Currently they still have mains water and electricity. Her parting words were have got a small mountain of Hershey Bars to bring home to the UK and in extremity could survive on them for a couple of weeks, so think I'm more scared than they are.

GQ _ Thank you for the info about Brooklyn being the go to place and not the run from place, did lots and then some for my peace of mind, you're a good friend, Cheers Lyn xxx.

prepareathome

Sitting room fireplace before I did it up
[IMG][/img] IMG-20121023-01414 by prepareathomeearth, on Flickr


Sitting room fireplace afterwards

[IMG][/img] IMG-20121024-01422 by prepareathomeearth, on Flickr

The wallpaper I choose, it was just up and rather wet I was overenthusiastic with my use of paste but its dried ok and looks clean and fresh and poppies are almost same colour as red over fireplace wall. It is also very thin paper, would have preferred a better quality but there were none I liked so this will do until I can replace it with better quality paper. My fault for wanting it all done yesterday as it were, we went to B&Q and didn't want to go anywhere else. It was only 5.99 a roll where as the red was around £20.

[IMG][/img] IMG-20121023-01418 by prepareathomeearth, on Flickr

Does anyone know of anywhere on-line that sells good wallpaper without it costing the earth? I want to get as near as I can to this as it really suits the room making it seems lighter and larger yet cosy as well.

I was also very lucky in that I asked on freecycle if anyone had an occasional table just to hold my cup of tea going spare and a woman had one her grandfather had made around 100 years ago. Its 6 sided with two shelves and stands about 30ins high and is perfect. Needs a bit of tlc as to sanding down and re varnishing or painting it but goes perfectly in the room with my art deco trolley and 1920's treadle sewing machine. Its very delicate looking yet is actually quite strong and sturdy.

Hugs and Love to all

prepareathome

[IMG][/img] table 100 yrs old by prepareathomeearth, on Flickr

[IMG][/img] top table 100 yrs old by prepareathomeearth, on Flickr

Thats the table. I just adore it. I hope to redo the trolley, table and treadle table over in the coming months. Not sure if will stain and varnish them or do shabby chic them.

Its posts like this that remind me how lucky I am here I am sitting in the wonderful electric recliner I received via freecycle with my cup of tea on the table.......both for free, cannot be any luckier can I

Hugs and Love to all xxx

homerdog

fuddle wrote: »

Good morning. Well it is actually. I'm actually ecstatic this morning. MIL rang DH last to say that out of her inheritance she would like to pay for each of her kids to have a holiday.

Friends? I'm going to Provence!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you believe that!?

I've said to DH that we're keeping the cost right down so we're getting a coach holiday and going to stay in a caravan-come-chalet. The travel arrangements or sleeping place doesn't matter because I'm going to get to experience a place where I've poured over photos for so long and experience the French markets. The company does day trips too so I can see other cities.

Maybe this is the wrong place to write about having a holiday at this time, the wrong thread because of all our hardship but I thought I'd share the great for a change instead of sharing the whinge.

Wow, life doesn't normally happen like this. Everyone... listen, toughies. Whenever you feel overwhelmed and totally absorbed in misery, just sit it out because life course changes in an instant.

That's fantastic news, and will be just the tonic you need. xx